Ruined Hut - Monk's Cowl

Hey Stijn.

Have you got a gps co-ordinate of that hut? If so, I can ask around at work if anyone know about it.

I know that some effort has gone into some of the vulture hides recently (especially the one at the top of Mikes Pass), so there may be one or two folk around who are aware of the hut, and perhaps have some idea as to the demise. It is Ezemvelo's intention to reduce the development footprint within the WHS, especially in those areas which have been zoned as wilderness. That process is part of the buffer project to inform where the buffer should be more stringent on development to reduce impact from outside on the wilderness element of those areas.

Let me know.

Hi Stijn. My interactions so far have yielded no responses. From all the folk in the field I have spoken to, none of them know anything about the structure. There are one or 2 more folk I need to liaise with, and I will feedback here if I get any further insights.

We managed to find out a bit more about the hut and visited it on the recent VE trip. It was apparently the home of the person manning the fire-lookout which looked over the Champagne Valley in the forestry days. There is still a clear trail from this hut up to the lookout point. The lookout is gone but the bushes that grew around it are still quite visible from below and from afar it looks like a man-made structure.

This hut has been partially dismantled and pieces of it were carried out. The rest will apparently be burned down as the location of the hut is squarely within the Mdedelelo Wilderness Area.